


Spared No Expense

by TalkMagically



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Drama, I will be making a few changes, Jurassic Park!AU, M/M, There's going to be a lot of pain going on here, and I won't be following the plot of Jurassic Park to the letter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-02-16 19:33:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13060692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalkMagically/pseuds/TalkMagically
Summary: Sam and Lucifer have been digging away in the Montana desert for months. They needed to find something soon if they have any hope of getting further funding from their benefactors. But their wishes seem to be delivered to them on a silver platter when a Chuck Shurley arrives at their dig site with the promise of five more years of funding. All they need to do is take a short trip to his island and sign off on his new amusement park. How difficult could that be?





	1. Isla Nublar Incident

Dean Winchester’s face remained sour as he watched over the crowd of workers below him. They swarmed around the cage as the bulldozer driver maneuvered his vehicle behind it. So far, so good, and Dean wanted it to stay that way.

“Little more! Little more!” a worker called out as the bulldozer inched closer and closer into proper alignment behind the cage. Everyone knew the moment it made contact. Despite the dull roar of everyone yelling orders at each other, the scraping of the bulldozer bucket against the back of the cage was louder. “Now gun it!”

The cage slammed into the side of the enclosure moments after the crowd cleared the area. Growling came from inside the cage, but it did nothing to deter everyone as they returned to their spots to push the cage into its final position. The snapping, however, had a few men jumping away.

“Get back in there! Don’t show her you’re afraid!” Dean yelled, prompting the men back to their positions. The strength of every pusher, combined, was required to get the cage where it needed to be. Dean watched as the crew switched positions with the secondary crew seconds after the security lights shined green, showing the cage was locked into position. It wouldn’t be long now until that damn thing was inside the enclosure and Dean could sleep a little easier.

“Raise the gate! Push her in!” Dean ordered. The worker’s stun guns crackled into life immediately. The peace did not last long, however. Dean was swearing loudly as the crewmember who had been raising the cage door was flung to the ground after the cage was rattled by its contents. Everyone watched in horror as the cage was jostled out of its locked position.

Dean jumped down from his position right as he watched a claw reach out and grab the worker’s leg, dragging him towards the door.

“Tasers, now!” Dean yelled as he dashed for the worker, grabbing onto the man’s arms. Dean could barely hear the men around him pass along hurried orders as the man in his arms screamed and howled in pain. This was the second worst-case-scenario. Dean would be damned if it escalated further. “Shoot her! Shoot her, damn it!”

Dean grasped at anything he could on the man. Dean anchored his feet on the cage and pushed himself back, hoping to take the man with him as everyone else rushed to taser and shoot the creature. His hands, however, slipped up the man’s torso without moving the man an inch. The worker in Dean’s arms was ripped out before Dean could get a tighter grip. 


	2. The Amber Mine

Raphael fidgeted where he stood as he was slowly dragged across the water on a raft. Why he couldn’t get a ride in a boat, with something to grab on for balance, was beyond him. He sighed sharply as the woman waiting for him on the shore waved while giving him a wide grin, her face hidden in shade from the brim of her hat.

“Hello, Ellen,” Raphael greeted once he was within earshot.

“Raphael,” Ellen said in return, reaching out a hand to shake Raphael’s in greeting the moment he stepped on dry land.

“What is this I hear about Shurley not being here?” Raphael asked immediately.

Ellen rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, walking towards the entrance of the mine she was in charge of. Everything being done by hand made it slow going, and Ellen couldn’t be away for long.

“He apologizes for his departure,” Ellen said over her shoulder.

“You’re telling me,” Raphael began, stumbling as he struggled to keep up with Ellen. “That we’re facing a $30 million lawsuit from the family of the worker we lost on Isla Nublar and he couldn’t even be bothered to see me?”

“He had to return early to be with his daughter, Anna. She’s going through a divorce. The soon-to-be-former-son-in-law, Alastair, is apparently a real nut job,” Ellen explained.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Raphael said with no real earnestness. He stumbled again, this time Ellen barely catching him before he face-planted into the gravel pathway. Raphael righted himself and smoothed his hands down his clothes like a bird with ruffled feathers trying to calm itself down. “We’d be well advised to deal with this situation  _ now _ . The investors are already threatening to pull their funding if we don’t do a thorough risk assessment.”

“Shurley hates assessments. The people doing them always get in the way,” Ellen insisted.

“Losing our funding is a bigger thing that’ll get in our way,” Raphael pointed out.

Ellen opened her mouth to remind Raphael that he was currently getting in  _ her _ way, but she was interrupted by a worker running up to them.

“Ma’am! Ma’am! We found another! In the same place!” the man said, waving his hands rapidly to urge Ellen to follow him.

“Looks like my day just got better,” Ellen said to Raphael, a grin returning to her face as she took the opportunity to walk away again.

Raphael rushed to keep up again as Ellen entered the mine without pause. She led Raphael deeper and deeper until they came upon a group of workers all crowded together and looking at something intensely. Ellen pushed her way to the front and grabbed a hold of the object, her grin growing even bigger.

“Look, if we can get two experts to sign off on the island, I am positive I can get the investors to back off demanding the assessment. I already have Gabriel Milton on the roster, but they all think he’s too eccentric by himself. They want Lucifer Landersen,” Raphael spoke up.

“Lucifer? You’ll never get him out of Montana,” Ellen scoffed.

“And why not? He’s one of the best,” Raphael questioned.

“He’s like me, my dear city slicker,” Ellen replied, turning her head to give Raphael a mischievous look. “Lucifer’s a digger.”

Ellen turned back to the object in her hand and held it up as a few crewmen focused their headlamps on it for her. She turned her wrist slowly to fully take in the sight in front of her, a small sigh of adoration escaping her. The amber glowed a warm honey gold as the petrified mosquito inside glinted from the light.

“Oh, darling. You’re going to make a lot of people happy,” Ellen breathed.


	3. The Dig Site

“Four complete skeletons,” Lucifer muttered under his breath in awe. He lightly swept away dirt with a natural hair brush as he searched for the lines where fossil ended and regular rock began.

“Clearly they died together. That means they must have lived together. Do you think it could be a sign of a social order?” Sam asked. He set aside the pick he was using to flex his hand before cramping could settle in.

“We’ve got a dismembered skeleton of a tenontosaurus over there,” Lucifer said, motioning over his shoulder with a jerk of his head. “Must have been lunch. They hunted together. They had a pack.”

Sam adjusted his weight from one knee to the other so he could lean closer to Lucifer and get a closer look at what Lucifer was looking at, specifically. It was a cluster of claws bunched together in a clump. They’d need to take some time identifying which raptor each claw belonged to.

“Dr. Landersen! Dr. Winchester! We’re ready to try again!” a woman called from several yards away.

“I hate computers,” Lucifer hissed to Sam. Sam gave Lucifer a grin and patted him on the shoulder before standing.

“Necessary evil, unfortunately,” Sam said. Lucifer rolled his eyes as he stood to join Sam, dropping the brush he was using so it could be used once he returned to this spot.

Lucifer’s left hand absentmindedly reached for the raptor claw he had hanging from a cord around his neck as he and Sam headed over to where the woman called for them. Sometimes Lucifer envied the dinosaurs they were digging up. None of the dinosaurs had to worry about shit like modern technology.

“Ready to give it another shot?” Sam asked one of the volunteers.

“Thumper ready?” the woman asked another volunteer. When she received a positive response, she turned to Sam. “Yes, Dr. Winchester. We’re all set.”

The crowd around the computer station watched as two men prepped a machine with a lead pellet and adjusted its position in the dirt. After checking that the safety measures were set, one man gave the thumbs up to activate. A loud bang echoed a few seconds later as the pellet was shot into the ground.

“How long will this take?” Sam asked, his eyes not leaving the computer screen.

“Should be immediate. Shoot the radar pellet, the bones bounce back, we get an image,” the woman explained. The screen in front of her blinked to life as the image of a skeleton began to form. “This is absolutely incredible. A few more years of development and we don’t even need to dig anymore.”

“And where’s the fun with that?” Lucifer asked, a wounded expression appearing on his face.

“Looks a little out of shape,” Sam spoke up before the woman could respond to Lucifer’s statement. Sam leaned closer to the computer screen to get a better look at the details. “We’ve got postmortem contraction of the posterior neck ligaments. This look like a velociraptor to you, Luce?”

“Yeah,” Lucifer replied. He threw Sam a look to show that he noticed the redirect, but said nothing else. Lucifer leaned closer to the computer screen as well. “It’s in great condition, too. Closer to six feet tall, probably nine feet long. Take a look here.”

Lucifer reached forward to point at something on the screen, but it blinked off the moment he touched the glass. He retracted his hand in shock. The volunteer woman looked at the screen in confusion and pat the side of it.

“Lucifer isn’t computer-compatible,” Sam laughed.

“I hate computers,” Lucifer repeated his earlier statement, glaring at Sam when the man continued to laugh.

“I see,” the woman said, a smirk of her own forming. She touched a different part of the screen to discharge any static that built up from Lucifer touching it and attempted to turn the screen on again. The radar image reappeared within seconds.

“As I was saying,” Lucifer said, elbowing Sam for continuing to snicker. Lucifer reached forward again but kept some distance from the glass this time. “Look at this half-moon shaped bone in its wrist. No wonder these beauties learned to fly.”

The volunteers around them all began laughing. Lucifer rolled his eyes, ignoring the amused look of pity Sam was giving him.

“Look at the pubic bone. It's turned backwards, just like a bird,” Lucifer continued despite the laughter. “The vertebrae, too. They’re full of hollows and air sacs, just like a bird.  Even the word raptor means ‘bird of prey’. Dinosaurs have more in common with modern day birds than they do with reptiles.”

“So it’s a six-foot turkey?” Sam asked, unable to keep the mischievous look off his face. Lucifer threw him a bitch face before turning and heading off in the direction of the skeleton they had been digging up earlier. Sam exchanged a look with the woman in charge of the computer and quickly followed after Lucifer.

“Come on. You know I gotta give you shit,” Sam said once he was back next to Lucifer.

“You’re this childish and you want to adopt a child?” Lucifer shot back.

“Why not? They’re adorable. They’re fun. Having one at some point could be a good thing. What’s wrong with kids, anyway?” Sam replied.

“They’re noisy. They’re messy. They’re sticky. They’re expensive,” Lucifer started listing off.

“Cheapskate,” Sam inserted.

“They _smell_ ,” Lucifer continued without pause.

“They don’t smell!” Sam exclaimed through a laugh.

“Yes, they do! Some of them smell! Babies smell!” Lucifer argued.

“Okay, fine. Taking care of a baby and dealing with messy diapers isn’t exactly the most pleasant of experiences, but it’s worth it once they’re older,” Sam insisted.

Lucifer stopped walking the moment they reached the skeleton they were working on. He turned to face Sam and crossed his arms, a look of annoyance growing on his face.

“You’re insufferable, you know that?” Lucifer said.

“I know. You love me, anyway,” Sam said with a grin. He grabbed both sides of Lucifer’s collar with his hands and pulled the blonde man closer for a kiss.

Around them, the air slowly began to swirl and kick up dust. Sam and Lucifer pulled away from each other and looked around in confusion before they registered the noise. Both looked on in horror as a helicopter began to descend onto their camp.

“Cover anything exposed!” Sam yelled at the volunteers.

Everyone scattered as they rushed to grab the nearest tarp with the hope to cover everything before it was completely reburied. A dark look grew on Lucifer’s face as he worked to cover the raptor he had been uncovering, making a beeline to the helicopter when he was finished. He motioned to the pilot to shut the thing off, but the man motioned towards the mobile home that was acting as the camp office. Lucifer let out a noise of frustration and stomped toward the office.

“Just who the flying fuck do you think you are?!” Lucifer yelled as soon as his eyes landed on the man rummaging through the fridge.

The man, sighing in disappointment and closing the fridge empty handed, turned around and gave Lucifer a wide smile. It was clearly meant to express excitement and encouragement, but all Lucifer could think was that it made the man look smarmy.

“Dr. Landersen! Your reputation precedes you,” the man said.

“And you are?” Lucifer asked again, putting as much vitriol into his voice as he could.

“Chuck Shurley! I cannot express how excited I am to finally meet you in person,” Shurley said.

All the blood in Lucifer’s face immediately drained away as he registered the name of the person in front of him.

“Mr. Shurley,” Lucifer said, his tone turning embarrassed.

“It’s fantastic seeing how well my fifty grand a year is being spent,” Shurley said. He took a few steps while motioning his hands in the direction of the large specimen table that took up most of the rear half of the mobile home. The amount of excitement rolling off the man reminded Lucifer of young cheerleaders leading a high school pep rally. “This is… all of this is just absolutely amazing, Dr. Landersen.”

The door slammed open again and Sam stepped through, as angry as Lucifer was just moments ago.

“Okay, who’s the bastard?!” Sam snapped.

“Sir, this is our paleobotanist, Dr. Sam Winchester,” Lucifer said quickly. “Sam, this is Mr. Shurley. Chuck Shurley.”

“Did I… did I say bastard?” Sam stuttered, his eyes going wide in realization.

“I do apologize for the dramatic entrance, but I am in a wee little bit of a hurry. For your sake, I’ll get straight to the point,” Shurley said. He looked around for a few moments before landing his eyes on a box that sat on the tiny kitchen counter. He grabbed it and set it on the floor before boosting himself onto the counter to sit, his legs swinging slightly as he turned his attention back to Lucifer and Sam.

“I own an island. It’s off the coast of Costa Rica,” Shurley began. “I’ve been spending the last five years there building something of a nature reserve combined with an amusement park. I’ve spared no expense. It’ll be spectacular. I’m sure the attractions will drive the kids wild.”

“And those are?” Lucifer asked.

“Smaller versions of adults,” Sam whispered to Lucifer. Lucifer elbowed him hard in the ribs in response but said nothing.

“But not just the kids. Everyone!” Shurley continued, ignoring Lucifer and Sam’s interaction. “It’s due to open next year. That is, unless my lawyers kill me first. I don’t much care for lawyers. Do you?”

“We, uh…” Lucifer trailed off, exchanging a confused look with Sam. “We don’t really know any. Not much use for a lawyer in the middle of the Badlands.”

“I, unfortunately, know several. And one in particular has been a thorn in my side. You see, he represents my investors, and he claims they want outside opinions,” Shurley said. He wiggled his feet like an anxious child who clearly wasn’t happy with the topic they were talking about.

“What kind of opinions?” Sam asked. He stood up straighter and crossed his arms, feeling agitated at how long this was taking if it was supposed to be ‘straight to the point’.

“Bluntly? Your kind,” Shurley said, a smile appearing on his face again. “You are the top minds in your field. If I could get the two of you to just come take a little visit and sign off on the park, I can get back on schedule.”

“What kind of park is it that they’d care what we think?” Lucifer asked incredulously.

“It’s right up your alley,” Shurley insisted. “Come on. Why don’t both of you come down for the weekend, consider it a short vacation, and you’ll be back to digging by Monday morning. I have the jet waiting already.”

“This is kinda an awkward time,” Sam began. He and Lucifer exchanged awkward looks again. Leave the others alone for the weekend when they had so much to do?

“I’ll compensate you for your time by fully funding your dig,” Shurley offered, his smile turning into an encouraging one.

“We… We just found a new skeleton. Skeletons, actually, it’s a nest. And we…” Lucifer rambled.

“For a further five years,” Shurley tacked on.

Lucifer and Sam fell silent at the proposition. Five full years, completely paid for. Served to them on a silver platter. All they had to do was give their opinion on an amusement park.

“Where’s the plane?” Sam asked.


	4. San Jose

Metatron poked at his food with his fork as he pondered over which bite to eat next. Sausage or fruit? Or perhaps a bit of hash brown? He was fortunate to find a Costa Rican cafe that served such an American breakfast.

The sound of a car door opening caught Metatron’s attention, pulling his eyes from his plate to the street. An older man stepped out of the taxi and paid the driver before closing the door. The man held a case close to his side and a shoulder bag strap tightly in his other hand as he glanced around the cafe. Metatron chuckled and waved a hand to get the man’s attention.

“Crowley!” Metatron called.

Crowley frowned and hurried over to Metatron’s table, giving Metatron a deeper frown as he sat down.

“You shouldn’t be using my name,” Crowley hissed.

“Crowley. Crowley! We’ve got Crowley here!” Metatron said loudly. He motioned to the other patrons with a wave of his hand as he gave Crowley a look. “See? There isn’t a single person here who cares who you are, including me.”

Crowley rolled his eyes and set his case on the table. He pushed it slightly toward Metatron, as much as the little space on the table would allow him, and tapped on the top with a few fingers.

“750. Upon delivery of the specimens, we’ll give 50,000 for each  _ viable _ embryo. That’s a combined total of 1.5 million. If you get all 15 species,” Crowley said.

“I’ll get them off,” Metatron assured, grabbing the case and pulling it even closer. “Just tell me how.”

Crowley slipped his shoulder bag off his shoulder and set it on his lap, zipping it open carefully. Crowley pulled a can of Barbasol shaving cream out and placed it on top of the case he gave Metatron.

“Portable cooler,” Crowley stated.

Metatron picked up the can and twirled it around the find where the ‘cooler’ part was. Finding nothing, he popped the top open and checked to see if it could be used. A dollop of shaving cream appeared on his hand, causing Metatron to look at Crowley in confusion.

“The bottom twists open. There are 15 slots for 15 species. Make sure you get it done quickly because there’s only enough coolant in there to keep the specimens cooled for 36 hours. It’ll activate once you twist the bottom back on,” Crowley replied.

“Didn’t want to risk using Gillette?” Metatron asked, wiping the dollop of shaving cream off his hand on the edge of the table.

“The embryos  _ need _ to be back here in San Jose before the 36 hours is up, Metatron,” Crowley stressed.

“I’ll get them to the dock on time. After that, it’s on your man and his ship to get here fast enough,” Metatron said.

“Do I want to know how you plan on getting past Shurley’s security?” Crowley asked. He was given a grin that made it clear Metatron didn’t trust him  _ that _ much. “Regardless, just get it done.”

Before either man could say anything else, a waitress approached the table with a sheet of paper. She looked back and forth between them in confusion before setting the paper down where they both could reach and walked away. Metatron looked at the check pointedly before returning his eyes to Crowley.

“Don’t get cheap on me, Crowley. That is sin number one from our friend, Shurley,” Metatron said.

Crowley rolled his eyes and picked up the check.


	5. Arrival

Everyone huddled into the back of a helicopter, sans Shurley, who sat in front with the pilot. Below them, the Pacific Ocean passed by without notice.

“So!” the short, brunette man across from Sam yelled over the sound of the helicopter blades. He gave Sam a grin. “You two dig up dinosaurs?!”

“We try to!” Lucifer replied.

The man laughed, pulling a confused look from Lucifer. In front, Chuck let out an annoyed huff and turned in his seat so he could look at everyone in the back.

“Please don’t mind Dr. Milton! For a mathematician, he suffers from excess personality!” Shurley explained.

“Chaotician! I’m a Chaotician!” Dr. Milton corrected. Chuck rolled his eyes, making it clear how much Milton annoyed him. Dr. Milton smirked at Chuck before turning back to Sam and Lucifer. “Chuck here doesn’t accept how much Chaos potential his little science project has!”

“Nonsense, Gabriel! Your concerns are nonsense!” Chuck insisted, turning back forward.

“Say what you want, but you’re not the one my opinions matter to!” Gabriel replied. Chuck waved Gabriel off with a flick of the wrist. Gabriel leaned forward and poked at Chuck’s knee. “Chuck! Chuck!”

“Stop that!” Chuck snapped, smacking at Gabriel’s hand.

Gabriel leaned back as he laughed again. His eyes returned to Sam and Lucifer, grin back on his face. “So, have either of you heard of Chaos Theory?”

“No!” Sam replied, shaking his head.

“Non-linear equations? Strange attractions? No?” Gabriel continued. He laughed when Sam, once again, shook his head to say he hadn’t heard of it. “Oh, come on, Dr. Winchester! I’m finding it very hard to believe that you aren’t knowledgeable in the concept of attraction!”

Lucifer wondered if he could roll his eyes far enough back to see his brain because that’s what he felt like doing at that moment. He left out a huff and turned his attention back out the window. Next to Lucifer, Sam shook from withheld laughter as he smiled back at Gabriel, greatly amused by the whole interaction.

“I bring scientists! You bring a rock star!” Chuck yelled over his shoulder at Raphael.

Soon, everyone was grabbing onto the nearest hand grip as the helicopter rattled and swayed during its descent to the landing pad. Lucifer turned his head back to look at Sam when the cliff faces around them got uncomfortably close to the helicopter and he was no longer so willing to look out the windows. Sam offered Lucifer a smile and used his free hand to pat Lucifer on the leg. Sam’s smile was quickly replaced with a grimace, however, when the helicopter landed hard on the landing pad.

Everyone are more than happy to follow Chuck’s orders as he ushered them out of the helicopter and into the waiting open-top Jeeps, no one waiting to watch the helicopter take off again. Gabriel followed Sam and Lucifer into the front one, leaving Raphael to join Chuck in the back one. As the group went down a designated trail, Raphael looked closely at the large, electrified fence they were passing.

“The full perimeter fence is in place?” Raphael asked.

“And the exterior motion trackers. And the moats. Raphael, my boy, do try to enjoy yourself while you’re here,” Chuck replied.

“This isn’t some weekend safari,” Raphael said with irritation. He motioned to the front Jeep as he spoke. “We’re here to determine the stability of the island. Your investors are concerned, and they’ve sent me here to represent them. If those three aren’t convinced by the time we’re done, then neither am I. I  _ will _ shut you down if that happens, Chuck.”

“In 48 hours, I’ll be accepting your apology,” Chuck replied arrogantly.

In the front Jeep, Sam looks around with fascination at the plant life they’re passing. He reaches out and snags a leaf off a passing branch before it’s too late and pulls it into the Jeep, looking down at it in amazement. The look on his face turns to concern, however, as he looks closer.

“Lucifer,” Sam began, paying no mind to the fact that both Jeeps had now slowed to a stop in a wide clearing. “This shouldn’t be here.”

Lucifer, sitting on the other side of the Jeep, remained silent as he looked out his own window in shock. He reached up to grab the roof of the Jeep and pulled himself to a standing position, his eyes not leaving the sight in front of him. His jaw dropped open as his brain struggled to register what he was looking at. It felt like a lawnmower that refused to start no matter how many times you yanked the cord. Lucifer  _ knew _ what he was looking at, but his brain absolutely refused to believe it was real. He was looking at a living, breathing brachiosaurus.

“This plant has been extinct since the cretaceous. This… this thing shouldn’t be here,” Sam continued.

Silently, Lucifer reached across the Jeep and grabbed the top of Sam’s head to turn it in the same direction Lucifer was looking. The beginnings of a protest escaped Sam’s mouth, but they stopped the moment Sam’s eyes made contact with the brachiosaurus. He dropped the leaf in his hands without thinking.

“Oh… my… god…” Sam breathed, pulling himself up into a standing position, as well. “Oh, my god!”

Lucifer let out a squawk of amazement and hurried out of the Jeep. Sam followed without hesitation. They both continued to look up at the brachiosaurus in awe.

“That’s a dinosaur!” Lucifer finally exclaimed. Both of them walked slowly toward the brachiosaurus, grabbing onto each other to confirm that they were in reality and what they were looking at was not some figment of their imagination. Chuck left his own Jeep to come up behind Sam and Lucifer, a proud smile appearing on his face.

“I can’t believe you actually did it, you son-of-a-bitch,” Gabriel said, looking back and forth between Chuck and the dinosaur.

“Look at the movement,” Lucifer cried, his hands flying to his head to grip his hair.

“No way in hell these things lived in swamps just to support their weight,” Sam said, equally overwhelmed.

“It’s got, what, a 20-? 25-foot neck?” Lucifer turned to ask Chuck.

“It’s 30 feet,” Chuck replied.

“That blows cold-bloodedness straight out of the water,” Lucifer muttered. He turned his attention back to the brachiosaurus. “Pump blood up a 30-foot neck without a four-chambered heart and move around with such agility? Cold-blooded, my ass! These things are warm-blooded!”

“We’ve clocked our T-Rex at 32 miles per hour,” Chuck offered, the proud look never leaving his face.

“T-Rex?” Sam asked, immediately turning his attention to Chuck. “You have a T-Rex?”

“Say again?” Lucifer asked.

Chuck looked between the two of them in amusement before letting out a laugh. “We have a T-Rex!”

“I… I…” Lucifer wobbled. He lowered himself down to the ground to sit, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

“Luce, just breathe,” Sam said. He took a few deep breaths, himself, as his attention returned to the brachiosaurus.

“Dr. Landersen. Dr. Winchester. I’m proud to welcome you both to Jurassic Park,” Chuck said, motioning for them to look out further into the clearing.

The group watched as a large group of brachiosauruses walked together. They closed in on a large lake that had a handful of other species of dinosaurs also drinking from it.

“They’re moving in a herd. They move in herds,” Lucifer breathed, tears forming in his eyes. “Sam, they’re… they’re…”

“We were right!” Sam said, kneeling next to where Lucifer sat and hugged the man close.

“How did you do this?” Lucifer asked Chuck, not taking his eyes off the herd of brachiosauruses.

“I’ll be showing you,” Chuck assured.

Back in the Jeep, Raphael stared at everything in front of them with reverence.

“We’re going to make a fortune,” Raphael whispered under his breath.


	6. The Tour

The group arrived at the incomplete visitor’s center, which was still covered in scaffolding and tarps from construction. Shurley prattled on and on about the park as Lucifer, Sam, and Gabriel looked around in mild awe. The sight of a magnificent fight scene between two reconstructed fossil skeletons greeted everyone as they entered the lobby.

“What are you thinking?” Sam whispered in Lucifer’s ear as the blond man looked up at the T-Rex skeleton hanging in front of them.

“We’re out of a job,” Lucifer muttered back.

“Don’t you mean you’re extinct?” Gabriel injected on the other side of Lucifer before following after Shurley.

It wasn’t much longer before they all reached a small auditorium that held no more than 50 people.

“Come on! Sit! Sit!” Shurley encouraged as he took a seat in the front row.

On the screen in front of them, a cartoon figure blinked into life and began a long, yet simple, explanation on how cloning worked.

“Cloning? From what?!” Lucifer exclaimed.

“Where do you find 100 million year old dinosaur blood?” Sam demanded.

“Shush and maybe Mr. DNA will tell us,” Gabriel said.

“A DNA strand like me is a blueprint for building a living thing!” Mr. DNA continued in the video. “And sometimes animals that went extinct millions of years ago, like dinosaurs, left their blueprints behind for us to find!  We just had to know where to look!”

The video switched over from explaining cloning to showing how InGen spent several years looking for amber and found mosquitos that contained dinosaur DNA in the blood they had ingested. The DNA had holes, however, and the video showed how the scientists filled the holes with DNA from other creatures to create a viable DNA strand.

Lucifer, Sam, and Gabriel exchanged wary looked with each other, unsure of how to react to the video they had just seen. There were several ethical and moral lines criss-crossing. Were the dinosaurs even dinosaurs if their DNA wasn’t 100% their own?

“All this has some dramatic music, a march or something. It's not written yet,” Shurley explained. He clicked a button on a remote he was holding, and the bars in front of each seat slid down over everyone’s laps and clicked into place. “And the tour moves on.”

The entire auditorium began to turn in place before any protests could be said. The screen remained in place, disappearing into the wall as the auditorium turned, and was replaced with a large window that let the group look out into a laboratory setting.

“This is so overwhelming, Chuck,” Raphael said with a smile on his face. “Is this… are these people animatronics?”

“No. They are the real, living staff of Jurassic Park,” Shurley replied.

The lab was full of people scurrying back and forth from station to station as they attended to several collections of ostrich eggs. The auditorium continued to move, however, and the sight didn’t remain in front of everyone for long. Frustrated, Lucifer, Sam, and Gabriel all leaned forward as far as they could to keep their eyes on the laboratory scientists for longer.

“Wait! How do you interrupt the cellular mitosis?!” Lucifer exclaimed.

“Can’t we see the host eggs?” Sam asked loudly.

“Shortly. Shortly. It’s a bit of a ride, so we’ll have to wait,” Shurley assured them.

Lucifer exchanged a look with Gabriel, and the two of them gripped the safety bar in front of them before pushing up in unison to force it open. They were up and out of their seat in seconds with Sam close behind. The three of them hurried away and toward the door into the laboratory.

“Now, wait! You can’t do that! Can they do that?” Raphael demanded, turning to Shurley.

“Relax. They’re scientists. They ought to be curious,” Shurley said. He rose from his own seat and followed the trio at a more sedate pace, giving them all an amused look as he passed so he could open the laboratory door for them.

A couple doors later, the group was inside the lab. Lucifer, Sam, and Gabriel looked around in amazement as they took closer looks at the clusters of eggs all the scientists were working on.

“Chuck!” a brown-haired man in his late twenties said loudly. He approached the group and gave Chuck a smile, shaking the man’s hand in greeting. “Didn’t expect you in here so soon today.”

“Ash! Great to see you. And how is my favorite geneticist doing today?” Shurley asked, returning Ash’s smile with one of his own.

“Busy, busy like a mother hen. We’re due to get a few hatchlings within the hour, so everyone is on call in preparation,” Ash said.

“Look!” Lucifer called out, getting everyone’s attentions. He stood in front of a cluster of eggs with his eyes focused on one that was beginning to move around.

“Perfect timing!” Ash said. He grabbed a pair of gloves from a box on a nearby table and slipped them on as he approached the cluster Lucifer stood in front of. “Y’all can see the hatching process. Chuck and/or I have been in attendance to every hatching event here in Jurassic Park.”

“But surely not the ones that have hatched in the wild,” Gabriel insisted.

“Wild hatchlings aren’t possible. We take measures to prevent unauthorized breeding in the park,” Ash replied.

“Which are?” Gabriel asked, raising an eyebrow.

“All the dinosaurs are female. No males to fertilize the eggs. We do it all by hand,” Chuck answered before Ash could.

“Chuck…” Gabriel trailed off. He ignored the hatching process in front of him in favor of giving Shurley a horrified look. Gabriel frowned when he realized that Sam and Lucifer weren’t also horrified, but he left them to continue watching. “This… this is a very dangerous thing you’re meddling with here. The amount of control you require to guarantee that every single dinosaur in the park remains female is not possible. If we’ve learned  _ anything _ about evolution, it’s that  _ life finds a way _ .”

Lucifer pulled on a pair of gloves, himself, and delicately picked up one of the new hatchlings. He looked in awe at the creature that was cradled between his hands. He never expected, in his entire life, to hold a living, breathing dinosaur in his hands. Lucifer slowly caressed a finger down the hatchling’s spine, a puzzled look growing on his face as he realized how many vertebrae were passing under his fingertip. Lucifer’s gut filled with dread as he realized what he was holding.

“Mr. Shurley,” Lucifer spoke up, pulling everyone’s attention to him and away from the argument between Shurley and Gabriel. “What species is this?”

Shurley turned from Lucifer to Ash in expectation.

“It’s a velociraptor,” Ash said.

Lucifer and Sam exchanged astonished looks before turning to Shurley.

“You bred raptors?” Lucifer asked.


	7. Raptors and Lunch

Lucifer was ahead of the group as they crossed the compound and approached a large, heavily reinforced enclosure.

“Dr. Lan… Dr. Landersen, I had _planned_ on showing you the fully grown velociraptors after lunch,” Shurley called from the back of the group. Being the shortest of everyone, he was struggling to keep up.

“What are they doing?” Lucifer asked as he ascended the stairs to the viewing platform, his eyes zeroing in on the cow that was suspended over the pen via a harness and crane.

“It’s lunch time for the raptors, just like it is for us. Now, as I’ve been trying to explain, the park head chef is preparing a wonderful Chilean sea bass lunch for us. It would be a pity to allow it to go cold,” Shurley said.

The sounds of squealing and flesh being ripped apart hit everyone’s ears, causing Gabriel and Raphael to jump in surprise. Lucifer stood as close to the rail as possible, pressing himself as close to the fence as he was willing to chance. Sam set a hand on Lucifer’s arm and pulled back slightly to rein Lucifer’s excitement in a little bit.

“My god,” Sam muttered as the remains of the harness were lifted out of the enclosure.

“Can we get closer? I want to see them,” Lucifer asked, his eyes not leaving the pen.

“Luce, these aren’t bones anymore,” Sam reminded him.

“We’re still perfecting the viewing process,” Shurley admitted.

“They should all be destroyed,” a new voice spoke up behind Shurley, causing the group to turn away from the fence. A surprised, but pleased, look appeared on Sam’s face.

“Dean!” Sam exclaimed, rushing forward to pull his brother into a hug. Dean let out a small snort of amusement and briefly hugged back before pulling away.

“Gabriel, this is Dean Winchester. My game warden,” Shurley supplied when he realized that Gabriel was the only one there who didn’t know who Dean was. “He’s dealt with the raptors more than anyone in the park.”

“Like to keep things in the family, I take it?” Gabriel cracked as he watched Lucifer also step forward to greet Dean.

“It has its uses,” Shurley replied.

“What kind of growth rate do they have?” Lucifer interrogated Dean.

“Lethal by eight months. I’ve hunted plenty of things that hunt you, but these things…” Dean trailed off with a shake of his head.

“Fast?” Lucifer continued.

“They could probably hit 60 miles per hour if they were ever to get out in the open. And they’re not about to be losing any high jump competitions any time soon,” Dean said. Sam let out an amused sound as Dean gave him a ‘help me’ look, but Sam kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t going to take away Lucifer’s chance to get _answers_ about velociraptors.

“Yes, yes, yes. They are fascinating creatures, which is why we’re taking so long to design the viewing platform below us,” Shurley said in the hope of getting everyone to move along to lunch.

“Do they show signs of intelligence?” Lucifer asked as if Shurley hadn’t said a word.

“Extreme intelligence. Even problem solving. The big one has been our biggest issue. Once she came in and took over the pack, they began testing the fence during feeding times,” Dean answered.

“But the fence is electrified, right?” Sam asked, immediately concerned about their location next to said fence.

“Yes. However, they never test the same section of fence twice. They’re _remembering_ where they’re attacking the fence,” Dean said. He leveled a grim look with Sam and Lucifer to make it clear how much he disliked letting the raptors live.

* * *

Shurley, Lucifer, Sam, Gabriel, and Raphael gathered around a lunch table in a small conference room, the walls around them playing a slideshow of images of the park.

“None of the attractions are finished yet, I hope you understand. We’ll be opening with the basic tour you’ll be taking this afternoon and open more attractions at six- and twelve-month intervals. They will be spectacular. Spared no expense,” Shurley said.

“And we can charge anything we want!” Raphael exclaimed, finally excited about the idea of the park. “Two thousand a day, ten thousand a day. People will pay it! And then there's the merchandising…”

“Raphael, this is not meant to be a park that caters only to the super rich. Everyone on the planet has the right to view and enjoy these animals,” Shurley scolded.

Gabriel frowned as he stared at one of the images from the slideshow. He scoffed when he registered what was being said around him.

“The lack of humility before nature being displayed here _staggers_ me,” Gabriel spat.

“Thank you, Dr. Milton, but I think things are far different than you and I had anticipated,” Raphael said.

“You’re right. They’re worse,” Gabriel shot back, turning his look of contempt from the slideshow to Shurley and Raphael.

“Now, wait one second. We haven’t even seen the park yet and…” Raphael began, but he stopped when Shurley set a hand on his arm.

“Let him speak, Raphael,” Shurley said. Shurley kept his eyes on Gabriel and left his own face neutral. “Do continue, Gabriel. I’d like to hear what you have to say.”

“Don’t you see the danger here, Chuck? Genetics is one of the most awesome forces on the face of this planet, yet you wield it like a child who’s found his father’s gun! All this power and no discipline was used to attain it!”

“You’re not giving our scientists their due credit. They have done things no one else has ever done before,” Shurley insisted.

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they _should_. Science can create pesticides, but it can't tell us not to use them. Science can make a nuclear reactor, but it can't tell us not to build it!” Gabriel ranted.

“This is nature!” Chuck argued. “Why not give an extinct species a second chance? If I had filled the island with any of the species currently on the endangered species list, you’d have a very different attitude.”

“We’re not talking about animals that are being obliterated by humans because we tore down a forest or built a dam. Dinosaurs had their chance. Nature selected them for extinction,” Gabriel hissed back.

“Let’s hear from the others,” Raphael interrupted before Gabriel or Chuck could start raising their voices. “Dr. Landersen? Dr. Winchester?”

“The problem is,” Sam began when it became clear Lucifer was still collecting his thoughts. “How can you hope to control an ecosystem you know nothing about? There are plants in this building that are poisonous. You selected them because they look pretty, but they don’t care. They don’t know what era they’re in. What century they’re in. These things you are creating are aggressive beings who will defend themselves, if necessary. And it will be violent if it comes to that.”

Shurley turned from Sam to Lucifer with a weary sigh.

“Dr. Landersen. If there’s anyone here who can appreciate what this park is trying to accomplish…” Shurley said.

“I’m… I’m elated. And frightened. And I cannot even begin to comprehend the enormity of what you’ve put in front of us,” Lucifer replied in a quiet tone. “Two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been thrown into the mix together for the first time. How can we have the faintest idea of what to expect?”

“I don't believe it. I brought you down here to defend me from these characters and the only one I've got on my side it the bloodsucking lawyer!?” Shurley exclaimed.

“Thank you,” Raphael inserted with slight sarcasm.

A waiter approached the table and leaned down to whisper something in Shurley’s ear.

“Ah, they’re here! Thank you, Mark,” Shurley said to the waiter.

“Who’s here?” Lucifer asked. He was almost afraid of the answer.


	8. The Ride, Part I

“You four are going to have a little company while you’re off in the park. Spend a little time with our target audience. Maybe they'll help you get into the spirit of this place,” Shurley explained as the group re-entered the lobby of the visitor’s center.

“Do I want to know what you mean by target audience?” Lucifer asked.

“Grandpa!” a voice called out from the main entrance, pulling all eyes towards it. A slender, blonde, teenage girl with a wide grin bolted forward and threw herself into Shurley’s open arms as he pulled her into a hug.

“Jo, darling, it is so great to see you again,” Shurley said.

“I’ve missed you so much! Thank you for the birthday presents. I loved them,” Jo gushed. She took a step back so she could look over her shoulder and give the blonde teenage boy still at the door a ‘Get over here!’ look.

“Ah! And who is this, may I ask?” Shurley asked as the teenage boy approached.

“Grandpa, this is Adam, my boyfriend. His parents let him come with so I didn’t have to come here all by myself,” Jo explained. “Adam, this is my grandfather, Chuck Shurley.”

“Adam,” Shurley said, his eyes twinkling in amusement as Adam fidgeted uncomfortably.

“Mr. Shurley,” Adam greeted back.

Lucifer turned to give Sam a look without the two teenagers seeing his face. Sam snorted and patted the side of Lucifer’s face.

“Come. Come. Your rides are waiting!” Shurley said to get the group moving again. He led everyone out the entrance to the two waiting Jeeps attached to the track outside the building.

“And when did we agree to babysitting duties?” Gabriel commented to Lucifer, earning a noise of agreement in response.

“Have a heart, gentlemen,” Shurley chided as he watched Jo and Adam get into one of the Jeeps. “My daughter is in the middle of a nasty divorce. My granddaughter could use the distraction. Now, I’ll be watching you all from the control room. Do have fun.”

Shurley walked back into the building, leaving the others to arrange themselves. Raphael joined Jo and Adam in the front Jeep with a sour look that only a school dance chaperone could pull off.

“I guess I’ll join you two,” Gabriel said to Sam and Lucifer while giving Sam a mischievous look. Sam laughed and started walking to the rear Jeep. Lucifer threw Gabriel a look and hurried after Sam, ignoring Gabriel laughing behind him.

* * *

 

Shurley followed Dean into the control room, neither man wearing a happy look on their face. Both head to the main console and stand behind Michael, the head technician for the whole park.

“There’s a tropical storm about 75 miles west of us,” Dean said to Michael. “Hopefully it’ll swing south like the last one.”

“I’ll keep an eye on it,” Michael muttered. He scraped a fingernail along the edge of the nicotine patch on his right forearm while scrolling through a wall of text on his primary computer screen.

“Does the programming pass muster?” Shurley asked.

“As well as it can this far into development,” Michael answered. He looked over his shoulder at Shurley with a stressful look. “If we keep getting hit with obstacles, there’s no guarantee we’ll get everything done in time. If we have to evacuate the island, the grand opening is going to have to be pushed back to the following season.”

“Just start the tour,” Shurley sighed, lifting his attention from Michael to one of the many screens that showed the interiors of the Jeeps.

* * *

 

Both Jeeps came to life and began moving down the electric track they were connected to. The people in both Jeeps ignored the beginning of the audio tour in favor of watching their approach to the large gate that led them into the park. Around them, the fences were covered in greenery to maintain the experience of driving through a jungle. The audio tour guide began speaking about Dilophosaurus as the Jeeps entered a clearing that gave everyone a view of a large, empty field.

“Where are they?” Sam asked despite Lucifer and Gabriel being unable to give him an answer.

“Perhaps it’s best we don’t come face-to-face with the dinosaur that spits acid,” Gabriel cracked.

* * *

 

Michael let out a groan as he zoned in on a screen showing that the Jeep headlights were on. He grabbed a pen and scribbled something down on a nearby clipboard before turning to Shurley.

“The headlights are on when they’re not supposed to be. They’ll use up the car batteries. We've got all the problems of a major theme park and a major zoo, and the computer's not even on its feet yet. Who knows how many more glitches we’re going to find just today,” Michael said.

Shurley nodded in acknowledgment and took a few steps away to look at another technician sitting at a nearby station. A flash of irritation flew through Shurley’s eyes as he spared a glance at the game show appearing on one of the man’s screens.

“Our lives are in your hands, Metatron, and you’ve got butterfingers?” Shurley asked. Metatron turned around and gave Shurley a disbelieving look.

“I am totally unappreciated. We can run the whole park from this room, with minimal staff, for up to three days. You think that kind of automation is easy? Or cheap?” Metatron ranted.

“I will not get drawn into another financial conversation with you, Metatron. I really will not. I don't blame people for their mistakes, but I do ask that they pay for them,” Shurley cut in before Metatron could rant more.

“Thanks, Dad,” Metatron shot back sarcastically.

“Metatron,” Michael interrupted. A weary look was on Michael’s face, making it clear that he was tired of hearing the same argument again and again. “The headlights?”

“I'll de-bug the tour program when they get back. Okay? It'll eat a lot of computer cycles. Parts of the system may go down for a while. I’m sure you’d appreciate it if I kept the system completely on during the tour, right?” Metatron answered.

“Would all of you shut it? They’re nearing the Tyrannosaurus paddock,” Dean snapped, his eyes glued to the security monitors.

* * *

 

Everyone in the two Jeeps pressed themselves as close to the windows as possible as the vehicles came up to a tall, heavy duty fence that was thicker than any other fence they had seen in the park. They sat in anticipation.

“The mighty tyrannosaurus arose late in the dinosaur history.  Dinosaurs ruled the earth for hundred and fifty million years, but it wasn't until the last…” the audio tour droned on.

“Is there any way to turn that damn thing off?” Lucifer asked. Sam leaned over and pressed a button on the console, leaving the Jeep in silence. Moments later, Gabriel began muttering to himself.

“God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs.”

“Dinosaur eats man. Women inherit the earth,” Sam picked up where Gabriel left off. Lucifer gave Sam an amused look as Gabriel sputtered for a response.

Out in the paddock, a goat chained to a short pole is raised from an underground platform. It bleats a few times. The jungle around it, however, remained silent.

“What’s going to happen to the goat?!” Jo exclaimed in the front Jeep.

“Amazing,” Adam breathed, finally getting into the experience now that they were no longer in front of his girlfriend’s grandfather.

“What’s the matter, young lady? You’ve never eaten lamb chops?” Raphael asked.

“I happen to be a vegetarian,” Jo said, glaring at the back of Raphael’s head from the back seat.

In the rear Jeep, Lucifer began shaking his head in disappointment.

“T-Rex doesn’t want to be _fed_ . He wants to _hunt_ ,” Lucifer muttered.

After several more moments of no action other than the goat laying down, the Jeeps began to move again. Gabriel leaned forward in his seat and tapped on the vehicle camera mounted above the driver’s seat.

“You do eventually plan on populating this island with dinosaurs, right?” Gabriel asked.

Lucifer rolled his eyes as he settled into his seat and stared out his window. If he had to be stuck in the car with nothing to keep his attention other than Gabriel’s ramblings, he was going to go crazy.

“I still don’t fully understand this ‘Chaos’ thing you were talking about earlier,” Sam said to Gabriel to get a discussion going.

“It deals with unpredictability in complex systems.  It's only principle is the Butterfly Effect. A butterfly can flap its wings in Hong Kong and in Florida you get a hurricane instead of sunshine,” Gabriel explained. Sam gave him a blank look, pulling a wry smirk out of Gabriel. “Here, how about this. Give me your glass of water. I’ll show you something.”

Movement out in a nearby field caught Lucifer’s attention, giving him something to focus on other than Gabriel’s blatant flirting with Sam. He focused on the movement for a few moments before it clicked in his head what he was looking at. His eyes growing in excitement, Lucifer undid his seat belt and opened the Jeep door.

“Lucifer?” Sam asked in shock as he watched Lucifer jump out of the vehicle. “Lucifer!”

Gabriel chuckled to himself as Sam followed Lucifer out of the Jeep.

* * *

 

Shurley, Michael, and Dean stared at the monitors with incredulous looks as, one-by-one, everyone in the Jeeps followed Lucifer.

“Stop the program!” Shurley ordered when he realized that none of the technicians were doing anything. The Jeeps slowed to a stop on the screens after someone typed in a command.

“See! What did I fucking tell you?!” Dean exclaimed as he turned to Shurley. “We need locking mechanisms on the vehicle doors!”

Orders were being yelled back and forth between technicians as they scrambled to fix coding errors while they had the chance. No one paid attention as Metatron quietly opened his desk drawer to make sure the can of shaving cream was still where he left it.


	9. The Ride, Part II

“You know, I read your book,” Adam spoke up as he caught up with Lucifer, the others following close behind the two of them.

“Did you now?” Lucifer asked.

“Along with a few others. I’m not sure I believe Bakker’s theory. A planet-wide extinction event because of a disease or two? Dinosaurs didn’t have planet-wide travel, like we do. Seems unlikely they all would have died out because of that,” Adam continued.

“No one’s ever accused Bakker of having any brain cells,” Lucifer muttered.

“But the dinosaurs evolving into birds? I don’t know if I like the idea because it makes sense or because I’m amused by the thought of eating a mini T-Rex every Thanksgiving,” Adam said. Lucifer let out a sputter of a laugh.

“Lucifer, where are we going?” Sam spoke up, interrupting Adam and Lucifer’s conversation.

“You have eyes, Sam,” Lucifer replied.

Jo hurried forward to catch up with Adam, huffing in irritation. She tripped over a root sticking up in the grass just as she was coming up behind him and stumbled forward. Catching the sight of her falling out of the corner of his eye, Lucifer quickly stopped walking and caught Jo right before she collided with Adam.

“You okay?” Lucifer asked as he helped Jo stand upright.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you,” Jo said. She threw Adam an irritated look when he gave her a sheepish look. “I’d be better if I wasn’t abandoned at the drop of a hat.”

“Sorry,” Adam said.

Rolling his eyes, Lucifer turned back to the direction they had been walking and continued forward. He stopped again when he reached the edge of a clearing and grinned at the sight in front of them all. The others let out small gasps of surprise as they all, one-by-one, finally realized why Lucifer jumped out of the moving Jeep.

“Hello, everyone! Don’t worry. Nothing to be scared about,” a blonde woman in ranger gear greeted them as they all entered the clearing.

In front of them, a triceratops was on its side and wheezing through heavy breaths. Lucifer looked over it with awe as he slowly walked forward.

“She is absolutely gorgeous. Is it okay if I touch her?” Lucifer asked the woman.

“Sure,” the woman said.

Lucifer stepped forward and reached out with a hand to touch the triceratops’ head. Sam came up behind him and reached a hand out, as well.

“God, Sam, she’s gorgeous,” Lucifer whispered.

“Yes,” Sam said in agreement. He knelt down to get a closer look at the triceratops’ face and frowned when he caught a glimpse of her tongue. He lightly poked at the dark purple tissue to get a better idea of what was on it. “Hey, girl, what’s wrong?”

The blonde woman knelt next to Sam, on the other side of the triceratops’ head, and handed Sam a pen light.

“Dr. Lilith Harding. You can call me Lilith,” Lilith greeted.

“Dr. Sam Winchester. Just Sam. What are her symptoms?” Sam asked. He clicked the penlight on and shined it into the animal’s mouth to get a better view of everything.

“Imbalance, disorientation, labored breathing. Seems to happen to her and several of the others about every six weeks,” Lilith explained.

“Every six weeks?” Sam repeated. He sighed and glanced around at the plant life around them. The cause had to be something in their environment. Sam noticed a blooming plant several yards away and pointed at it so Lilith would see what he was focusing on. “Is that West Indian Lilac?”

“Yes. We know the plant is toxic, but the animals don’t eat them,” Lilith said.

“You sure?” Sam asked, turning his attention back to Lilith.

“Pretty sure,” Lilith confirmed.

“Only one way to be sure,” Sam said. He stood up and looked around to find out where Lucifer had wandered away to. Sam snorted in amusement when he saw Lucifer stretched out against the animal’s side, moving up and down as the animal breathed. Sam couldn’t remember the last time he saw such a thoroughly entertained and excited smile on Lucifer’s face. “Lilith, I’m going to need to take a look at the animal’s droppings.”

“Dino droppings?” Gabriel asked, not entirely sure he heard Sam correctly.

“They’ll be easy enough to find, Sam. You can’t miss them,” Lilith said as she stood back up, as well.

“Yes, Gabriel. Droppings. They’ll tell us what she’s been eating,” Sam replied, following Lilith as she motioned for him to follow her to where he needed to go.

* * *

 

Shurley and Michael frowned as they watched the feed on one of the screened directly in front of Michael’s station. It was from a camera covering one of the many beaches on the island. The typically beautiful scene was nowhere in sight as dark grey storm clouds made their way over the island.

“The storm hasn’t changed course, like we had hoped it would. We’re going to have to cut the tour short, I’m afraid,” Michael said.

“Are you sure we absolutely have to?” Shurley asked.

“It’s not worth the risk, Chuck,” Michael insisted.

“Wind speeds are hitting 45 knots,” Dean reported as he approached Michael’s station. “We need to cut the tour short. And if you don’t, I’m going out there myself. I’m not leaving Sammy out there in this kind of weather.”

“Lucifer’s out there, too, Chuck,” Michael pointed out. “I don’t think me going out there to get him should be the way he finds out that this is the mystery job I haven’t been able to share details about.”

“Let them know when they return to the vehicles,” Shurley sighed.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Michael turned his chair around so he could address the rest of the room. Several of his technicians were still fluttering around from station to station, attempting to fix code.

“Last shuttle to the dock leaves in approximately five minutes.  Drop what you are doing and leave now,” Michael said loudly.

“Damn it,” Shurley muttered under his breath, his eyes returning to the screen showing the black skies over the island.

* * *

 

Lucifer and Gabriel followed after Sam and Lilith as they approached multiple piles of dinosaur dung. The sound of flies buzzing filled the air. Gabriel paused in front of a pile the two of them were passing and let out a low whistle as he removed his sunglasses.

“Now  _ that _ is one big pile of shit,” Gabriel muttered.

Sam, wearing gloves that went up past his elbows, grunted as he pulled his arm out from the center of a pile. He spread some of the dung out across one of his palms and frowned as he looked at the contents.

“You’re right, Lilith. There’s no trace of lilac berries here,” Sam said. He sighed and stepped away from the group, muttering to himself as he tried to think of another explanation.

“He’s, uh… he’s definitely tenacious,” Gabriel said to Lucifer.

“You have no idea,” Lucifer replied, a grin growing on his face.

“You’ll remember to wash your hands before touching literally anything else, right?!” Gabriel called at Sam’s back.

Thunder rolls throughout the air as the clouds above become darker and darker. Raphael approaches the small group, borderline dragging Jo and Adam behind him. He let out a huff of irritation as he looked between Lucifer, Sam, and Gabriel.

“Doctors, if you please, I insist we get going and return to the Jeeps,” Raphael said.

“I’d like to stay behind with Lilith, if that’s alright. Finish figuring out what’s wrong with the triceratops,” Sam spoke up as he returned to the others.

“It’s perfectly fine. I have a gas powered Jeep. I can drop Sam off at the Visitor’s Center when we’re done here,” Lilith said.

Sam stepped closer to Lucifer so they could talk one-to-one. Lucifer had adopted a stubborn look, and Sam knew what was coming. It was the same argument they always had when on a job site.

“I’ll catch up with you, Lucifer,” Sam assured him. “I promise. Go with the others.”

“Are you sure you want to stay behind?” Lucifer asked.

“Yes. I’ll be fine, Luce. It shouldn’t take me too much longer to find out what’s wrong with her,” Sam said.

“If Dean starts ripping into me because I left you out here, I’m throwing you under the bus,” Lucifer commented.

“Just go,” Sam said, a smile growing on his face. He pressed a kiss to Lucifer’s lips and stepped away, turning back to the triceratops.

“Now, doctors,” Raphael insisted as another clap of thunder echoed over them.

Lucifer grabbed Gabriel’s arm and started pulling him back to the Jeeps, not wanting to deal with any further complaining from Raphael. Fat raindrops began to pelt the windshields of the Jeeps as the five of them returned to the track. In short order, they were back in their respective vehicles and were moving along the track again. 


	10. Hacked

“I found a way to reroute the program to get the Jeeps back to us faster. The rest area loop has enough space to turn them both around,” Michael said as he typed away on his computer.

“All the better,” Shurley sighed. He tapped his fingers on the desk impatiently as he watched the video feeds showing the storm slamming into the island. “Could you get my granddaughter on the radio? I don’t want her to worry about being stuck out in this.”

As Michael handed the radio over to Shurley, Metatron furiously whispered into his phone across the room.

“No, no, no. You need to listen to me. I need a bit more time. My test run took twenty minutes. If I cut some corners, I can get it to fifteen. You’ve gotta give me fifteen minutes,” Metatron begged.

“If the Captain says we gotta go, then we gotta go! I’ll try, but no promises,” the ship mate on the other end said. Metatron groaned in response and hung up.

“Visitor vehicles are on their way back to the garage, now,” Michael announced so the few remaining staff members around could hear him.

“So much for our first tour. Two no-shows and a sick triceratops,” Shurley sighed.

“Could have been a lot worse, Chuck. Be thankful for that,” Michael reminded him.

Metatron stood up, trying hard to keep his hands from shaking. His nervousness was obvious to anyone paying attention. He only hoped the others would ignore it.

“Any… anyone want a coke? I’m heading over to the machines, and I thought I’d get something sweet,” Metatron asked.

“No, thank you,” Michael said politely, while Shurley shook his head in response. Neither of them looked up from Michael’s screen. Metatron nodded and took a step to head off before deciding to say what he’d been rehearing.

“Oh, by the way. I finished debugging the phones, but the system’s compiling for the next twenty-ish minutes. Some of the minor systems may turn on and off while that’s happening. Nothing to worry about,” Metatron rambled.

“Thank you,” Shurley said, looking Metatron in the face long enough to reply before turning back to the video feeds of the storm.

Metatron nodded again. They weren’t paying attention to anything he was doing. Pleased by this, he inched his desk drawer open to grab the can of shaving cream and slipped away before anyone interacted with him further.

* * *

 The Jeeps slowly made their way through the onslaught of wind and rain as the tour program brought them back to the visitor’s center. Lucifer frowned as he watched the water pelt his window. Had Sam made it back to the center by now?

“So, any kids?” Lucifer asked. He turned his head back forward so he wasn’t looking away from Gabriel during their pathetic attempts to make small talk. Sam would rip Lucifer a new one if Lucifer was rude in Sam’s absence.

“Me? Yeah. Just the one, though. My daughter. Wanted more, though. They’re perfect little examples of chaos,” Gabriel replied, grinning as he thought about his daughter. His smile disappeared, however, as his thoughts turned down a different route. “Same with ex-wives, however.”

“You’re married?” Lucifer asked. He didn’t know if he was surprised or not.

“Not at the moment, but I’m always on the lookout for yet another person to disappoint,” Gabriel cracked.

* * *

Metatron waited outside the large, metal door to the fertilization lab and stared at the stopwatch he was holding.

“Come on. Come on,” Metatron muttered.

Moments later, the door made a thunking noise and opened slightly as the locks disengaged.

“Yes,” Metatron said and pulled the door open further. He hurried in and opened the nearest nitrogen-cooled container. Rows upon rows of embryos appeared as Metatron lifted the rack. Grinning, he twisted open the bottom of the shaving cream can. He looked over the small vials on the rack. “One point five million…”

* * *

Michael looked at his computer screen in confusion. Several lights began to blink before shutting off completely.

“The hell?” Michael muttered. He pressed a few buttons on his keyboard, but nothing changed on the screen.

“What is it?” Shurley asked as he and Dean came up behind Michael.

“The door security systems are shutting down,” Michael said, a frown growing on his face. Shurley exchanged a puzzled look with Dean.

“Metatron said that a few minor systems were going to go offline temporarily, didn’t he?” Shurley asked. Dean shrugged.

* * *

“By the way,” Gabriel began, barely giving the tour screen a glance when it flicked off. “Dr. Winchester. He’s not, you know… That is to say… I didn’t mean to...”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow as he turned his head to look Gabriel in the face. As socially inept as Lucifer was, he could tell what Gabriel was awkwardly trying to say. It was kinda amusing.

“It’s fine. I trust Sam,” Lucifer said.

Before either of them could say anything else, the Jeep jerked to a stop. The path lights outside flickered off, as well, plunging both vehicles into darkness.

“What did I touch?” Lucifer asked in confusion, lifting his hands off his lap.

“You didn’t touch anything. We stopped,” Gabriel said. He looked out the windows to try and find some source of light nearby.

* * *

Metatron growled in frustration as he focused on the road in front of him. Even with the wipers on their highest speed setting, it was difficult for Metatron to see anything in front of him. He’d be lucky if he didn’t crash the Jeep.

“Come on. Faster. Faster,” he muttered to himself.

* * *

Michael looked at his computer screen in horror as more and more lights began to rapidly turn off. “What the fuck?!”

“What now?” Shurley asked, exasperated. It wasn’t often that he heard Michael swear.

“Fences are turning off all over the park! A few minor systems, my ass!” Michael growled, furiously typing on his computer in try and keep the fences on.

“Find him, now!” Shurley hissed at Dean.

“God fucking dammit! Our monitors are failing!” Michael yelled. He picked up his keyboard with both hands and threw it at his monitor just as most of the monitors in the room went dark. Several lights in the room began turning off in quick succession. Within moments, they had only the emergency lights and Metatron’s monitor to light their way.

“Use Metatron’s station. Get everything back online now. I don’t care how much he complains about debugging later,” Shurley ordered.

Michael was out of his seat before Shurley finished talking. He glared at Metatron’s screen the entire way and had to force himself to not damage the only working monitor in the control room. Dean followed after and put his hands on Michael’s shoulders as Michael manipulated Metatron’s computer to figure out what happened.

“The raptor fences aren’t out, are they?” Dean asked.

“They’re still on,” Michael answered after he took a second to check.

“Why the hell would he turn all the others off?” Shurley exclaimed. 

* * *

Metatron pulled the fence gate open and ran back to his Jeep. He didn’t bother to buckle up before putting it into drive and flooring it down the path. He jerked the steering wheel side-to-side to keep the Jeep centered as it repeatedly slid in the mud. He was double checking his watch to see how much time he had left when the fork in the room suddenly appeared. Despite slamming on the breaks, Metatron still slid into the signpost that had stood at the fork point.

“Dammit,” Metatron cried. He threw his door open and hurried out to look at the sign. It was in too many pieces to understand what it had said. Metatron kicked at the pile of wood pieces and screamed in frustration before turning to the Jeep and slamming the door behind him. He backed the Jeep up and picked a random direction to turn down. He had to keep going.

* * *

“Let me access the main power grid, you piece of…” Michael muttered as he typed away on Metatron’s keyboard. The computer let out a loud buzzing noise as soon as Michael hit ‘Enter’ and a pop-up animation of Metatron began playing.

“Nuh, uh, uh! You didn’t say the magic word!” the animation sang.

“Please, God damn it!” Michael yelled at the screen. “I fucking hate this hacker crap!”

“Call Metatron’s coworkers at Cambridge,” Shurley ordered. Dean strode to the nearest phone, picking up the handset. He punched ‘9’ for an outside line. A second later, Dean was slamming the phone back into the cradle.

“The phones are out, too,” Dean hissed.

Shurley let out a pained noise and let his face fall to his hands. They had planned for many different kinds of scenarios when setting up the park. However, they never considered that the system would ever be hacked from the inside. A thought made Shurley freeze in horror before he looked up at Michael.

“Michael, where did the tour vehicles stop?”


	11. Unleashed

Lucifer looked up at the sky in disdain as he ran back to the rear Jeep. He hated the rain. It always screwed things up, in his experience.

“So?” Gabriel asked as Lucifer slammed the vehicle door closed after getting in.

“Their radio is out, too,” Lucifer muttered. “Raphael says we should stay put.”

“The kids okay?” Gabriel asked further.

“I didn’t ask. They appeared fine, though. Just irritated,” Lucifer said. “Why?”

“Kids get scared. Teenagers get scared,” Gabriel rambled.

“It’s just a little hiccup in the power. There’s nothing to be scared about,” Lucifer insisted, giving Gabriel a look.

“I didn’t say I was scared,” Gabriel insisted.

“I didn’t say you were scared,” Lucifer pointed out.

“I know,” Gabriel said.

“Fine,” Lucifer replied. He made a mental note to keep an eye on Gabriel as the other man eyed the fence to the Tyrannosaurus paddock.

* * *

 

“Sweet!” Adam breathed as he pulled a case out of the trunk, immediately setting it on his lap so he could open it. The grin on his face grew as he pulled out what looked like a heavy-duty pair of safety goggles.

“Adam, what are you playing with?” Jo asked from her spot in the front seat.

“I don’t know, but they look awesome,” Adam replied.

“Are they heavy?” Raphael asked. He didn’t even bother to look up from his binder as he read over paperwork.

“Well, yeah,” Adam said.

“Then it’s expensive. Put it back,” Raphael ordered.

“Like Grandpa would care,” Jo snarked.

Adam rolled his eyes and ignored Raphael. He turned the goggles around and tried them on, gleefully looking around when he registered that everything was the fluorescent green of night vision. He turned around in his seat to look at Lucifer and Gabriel in the rear Jeep in amusement when he saw that their body language made it clear they were bickering.

A deep thumping in Adam’s chest made him pause a moment and slowly pull off the goggles as he looked around in confusion. When he felt it a second time, he tossed the goggles in the general direction of the case and leaned forward to put a hand on Jo’s shoulder so he had her attention.

“Jo, can you feel that?” Adam asked.

Jo didn’t reply. Her eyes were stuck on the cups of water that had been left in the cupholders on the dashboard. With each deep thump, the cups vibrated and created ripples in the water.

“What is that?” Jo whispered.

“The power trying to kick back on?” Raphael asked, unsure if that was the correct answer.

A loud bang caused Jo, Adam, and Raphael all to startle in their seats and look up at the sunroof of the Jeep. Their shocked expressions turned to horror when they recognized the disembodied goat leg. Jo began whimpering and grabbed for Adam’s hand as they all saw what was past the goat leg. The Tyrannosaurus Rex stood at the fence, eating the rest of the goat. Raphael began to swear repeatedly and jerked his door open, running for the cement outhouse several dozen yards away.

“Where the hell is he going?!” Jo shrieked, looking after Raphael in shock.

* * *

 

“What the ever-loving fuck is that man doing?” Lucifer asked out loud as he and Gabriel watched Raphael run from the Jeep in front of them.

“When you gotta go, you gotta go,” Gabriel snickered as Raphael arrived at the outhouse. He turned back to look at the front Jeep just in time to watch the thick, metal wires of the fence warp out of shape before snapping completely. “The hell?”

Lucifer watched in horror as a ‘DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE’ sign fell off the fence and smacked onto the top of the front Jeep. The T-Rex chewed further at the wires and more snapped, giving it enough room to step through and onto the park road.

“Boy, do I hate being right all the time,” Gabriel whispered.

The T-Rex looked back and forth between the vehicles before it slowly walked towards the rear Jeep. Lucifer and Gabriel sat trembling.

“Keep absolutely still. Its vision is based on movement,” Lucifer hissed, trying to move his lips as little as possible.

“You’re sure?” Gabriel asked. He clenched his hands into fists as he forced himself to mimic a statue.

“Relatively,” Lucifer muttered after a pause.

The T-Rex bent down and peered into the vehicle, causing Gabriel and Lucifer both to freeze in horror. They could only see the large, yellow eye of the T-Rex, but it was more than enough to convey how much danger they were in. The T-Rex pulled away slightly and nudged at the Jeep to make it rock in place.

* * *

 

Jo and Adam rummaged through the trunk of the Jeep looking for something, for anything, that could possibly be of any help now that they were alone in the vehicle. Jo found a flashlight and threw it into the front seat in frustration before continuing to toss through the trunk’s contents. Behind them, the flashlight flicked on and shined through the sunroof.

The T-Rex looked up from where it stood by the rear Jeep, noticing the light that had suddenly appeared. It stared at the light for a moment before striding over to the front Jeep to investigate. Both Jo and Adam looked up in horror when they felt the T-Rex approaching.

“Fuck, the light!” Adam yelled, noticing the flashlight first, and he dove for the front seat to turn it off. But he was too late. The T-Rex slowly circled the Jeep and looked in the windows, looking for the source of the light. Jo gripped the back of Adam’s shirt tightly as they froze in their awkward positions.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Jo whispered over and over again.

Above them, the T-Rex looked down through the sunroof. It eyed the inside of the Jeep a few seconds more before letting out a loud roar. Jo screamed moments before the T-Rex slammed its head down and smashed through the sunroof. Adam got himself into the backseat just before they both were pressed down onto the floor with barely enough room left to stop them from being flattened by the Plexiglas of the sunroof. The T-Rex pushed down repeatedly, trying to reach Jo and Adam.

* * *

 

“Oh, my god,” Gabriel let out as he and Lucifer watched the scene in front of them.

“We gotta do something,” Lucifer hissed.

“Do what?!” Gabriel exclaimed, giving Lucifer an incredulous look.

“There has to be something,” Lucifer insisted. He crawled in the back seat and leaned over the back to search through the contents of the trunk. He found a metal case and pulled it into the back seat before opening it. The case was full of flares. Grabbing one, Lucifer quickly exited the car. Gabriel let out a groan before grabbing one, as well, and following Lucifer outside.

The T-Rex gave up on reaching Jo and Adam through the roof and began to nudge the Jeep toward the gaping hole in the paddock fence. Screams could be heard coming from the Jeep as the T-Rex flipped it over from its nudging, causing the Rex to pause and reconsider the Jeep. It stepped on the underside of the vehicle and bit at one of the tires, jumping back in surprise when the tire popped. The T-Rex gave up a second time and returned to nudging the Jeep toward the fence.

Lucifer took a few steps away from the rear Jeep as he watched the T-Rex mangle the front one. This was a stupid idea, but he didn’t have any other ones. Inhaling sharply, Lucifer pulled the cap off the flare to activate it.

“Hey! Over here!” Lucifer yelled, waving the flare back and forth above his head. The T-Rex turned to look at him and slowly made its way back to the rear Jeep. Lucifer stood as still as he could while continuing to wave the flare slowly. Once it became obvious to him that he had the T-Rex’s full attention, he flung the flare at the fence and watched it fall into the paddock. The T-Rex lunged after it, pausing when a second flare came to life on the other side of the rear Jeep.

“Gabriel, freeze! Get rid of the flare!” Lucifer yelled.

“Get the kids!” Gabriel yelled back. He inched backward a few feet before running away, heading for the same outhouse he and Lucifer had watched Raphael run for. The T-Rex followed the movement of the flare and gave chase after Gabriel. Gabriel threw the flare through the fence as well, hoping the T-Rex would continue to follow it, and let out a cry when the T-Rex remained behind him. He was a few yards away from the outhouse when it caught up with him and smacked at him with its muzzle, causing Gabriel to slam through the thin wooden wall of the building. He landed hard and barely covered his face in time as debris from the now-ruined building rained on top of him.

Lucifer watched as the T-Rex discovered yet another target in the form of Raphael, who now sat out in the open now that the feeble walls and roof of the outhouse were destroyed. Lucifer stopped breathing as the T-Rex lunged forward and Raphael’s screams ended as quickly as they began. Using the distraction to his advantage, Lucifer turned on his heel and ran for the front Jeep.

“Jo! Adam!” Lucifer yelled as he slid to a stop in the mud.

“Dr. Landersen,” Jo cried.

Lucifer fell to his knees on the far side of the Jeep, keeping the bulk of it between him and the T-Rex, and looked into the car. Both Jo and Adam looked at him with terrified faces, their entire bodies covered in the mud that had flowed into the vehicle after it had been flipped over.

“Are you both okay? Can you move?” Lucifer asked.

“Yeah,” Adam stuttered out, nodding rapidly as he gripped Jo in a tight hug.

“Okay, come on. Jo, sweetheart, you first,” Lucifer said in a soothing tone. He stuck his hand out to beckon Jo out of the Jeep.

As soon as he had her out, Lucifer settled Jo against the concrete foundation of the paddock fence so he could go back for Adam. Before Adam could be reached, however, Jo let out a shriek as she looked over the Jeep. Lucifer whirled back around and pressed a hand to her mouth to shut her up.

“Don’t move. It can’t see us if we don’t move,” Lucifer whispered. Jo looked at him with a crazed expression but made a small jerking motion with her head to show she understood. Lucifer maintained eye contact with Jo to keep her eyes on him as he felt the breath of the T-Rex blast against his back. He watched the tears begin to form on the rims of Jo’s eyes and slowly slip down her face, and he tightened the grip he had on her shoulder to show some comfort in the only way he had available at the moment.

The breath behind Lucifer disappeared and was quickly replaced with the sound of metal scraping as the T-Rex returned to pushing the Jeep. Swearing, Lucifer quickly ushered Jo onto the fence foundation before they were smashed between the concrete and the remains of the Jeep. Lucifer took the chance to turn around so he could keep his eyes on the T-Rex. He saw some of the fence cables dangling nearby and grabbed at them as the T-Rex continued to watch them from across the Jeep between nudges.

“Jo, grab a hold of me,” Lucifer ordered.

“Adam,” Jo cried as she followed Lucifer’s orders.

“He’ll be fine. Now hold tight,” Lucifer said. He adjusted Jo’s grip around his shoulders slightly and stepped over the edge of the paddock fencing before he could talk himself out of his decision. His hands burned as he tried to get himself and Jo down the cable as fast as possible without falling, using all of his focus to keep his hold on the cable. Jo gasped in his ear as she looked up at the Jeep being pushed, inch by inch, over the edge of the drop. Lucifer risked breaking his concentration to look up, as well. Groaning, he looked from side-to-side to find another cable that could support them. Seeing one that wasn’t immediately under the Jeep, Lucifer motioned to it with a head jerk. “Jo, see that cable? I’m gonna swing us over there. Try to grab it.”

It took Lucifer a few tries to swing them over, but Jo soon had the other cable in her hand. Moments later, the Jeep fell over the edge of the drop and landed in a tree top with a loud crunch.

“ADAM!” Jo shrieked down to the Jeep.

* * *

 

“I am going to kill that son-of-a-bitch,” Shurley hissed as he paced back and forth. He stopped when Dean burst through the door into the Control Room. “Well?”

“I can’t find him anywhere,” Dean replied.

Michael continued to itch at the edge of his nicotine patch every few seconds while he watched a huge list of commands scroll on Metatron’s console. His eyes darted over each line before they completely disappeared off the screen.

“Are we getting anywhere with this?” Sam asked Michael. He knew better than to ask Michael a question any more specific than that. And boy, was Sam not looking forward to Lucifer’s reaction when the Jeeps returned to the center and Lucifer saw Michael there.

“I ran a key check on everything Metatron typed today. It’s all standard. I’d expect every single technician of mine to do these things. But this last one…” Michael trailed off.

“Which one?” Sam asked. He stood up and joined the others around Michael at Metatron’s desk. Michael pointed at a specific line on the screen once he felt Sam’s presence behind him.

“This one, right here. It’s him turning the safety systems off throughout the entire park. Whatever he’s doing, he doesn’t want anyone to see what it is. But, that’s not the worst of it. See this line right here?” Michael pointed to another piece of code a few lines down, at the end. “Whatever this is, this is what actually did it. It did everything. However, Metatron turned off key tracking before activating it. The only way I’ll be able to find out what this thing does is to check the computer code, line-by-line.”

“Michael, how many lines of code are there?” Sam asked in a weary tone. He already knew he wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Over two million,” Michael sighed.

“Oh, that’ll take no time at all,” Sam said with heavy sarcasm.

“Dean?” Shurley spoke up, pulling Dean’s attention to him. “If you could be so kind. Please, take a gas Jeep and bring back my granddaughter.”

“Of course,” Dean said.

“I’ll go with him,” Sam insisted. He wasn’t going to leave Dean alone to deal with Lucifer.

Shurley watched Dean and Sam leave the control room. His hands began to shake as he considered all the consequences of what Metatron had done.

“Chuck?” Michael spoke up. Shurley turned to Michael, frowning when he saw the frown on Michael’s face. “Chuck, I can’t get Jurassic Park back online without Metatron.”


	12. Instant Karma

Metatron began muttering to himself as urged the Jeep to go as fast as possible. The treacherous conditions of the storm wasn’t making it easy to see the road, let alone stay on it.

“Should have been there by now,” Metatron sighed. He spared a glance at his watch, hoping he still had time. His eyes went wide when he looked back up and saw the guard rail fence. Metatron slammed on the breaks as fast as he could, but the Jeep still fishtailed before skidding out of control towards the fence. The Jeep slammed through the fence and came to a stop halfway over a muddied embankment.

“Goddammit!” Metatron yelled. He jerked the gear into reverse and slammed on the gas, attempting to get off the embankment, but the Jeep simply dug further into the mud. Growling in frustration, Metatron got out of the vehicle. “Good thing Chuck paid to have winches installed on the gas vehicles."

  
Metatron went through the tedious process of pulling cord off the winch and finding a tree to anchor the Jeep to. Every moment he took was a moment of wasted time he didn’t want to think about. Nervously checking his watch, Metatron double checked that the cord was properly attached to the tree before heading back towards the Jeep to turn the winch on.

  
A hooting sound behind him had Metatron freezing in place. He knew there weren’t any owls on the island. Holding his breath, Metatron slowly turned back around and tensed up when he came face-to-face with a dinosaur that very much should have still been in its enclosure.

  
“Oh! Uh… Nice boy. Nice boy. Run along, now,” Metatron said slowly while making a shooing motion.

  
Metatron turned back around and started making his way back to the Jeep. He was so close to getting the Jeep out of the mud. He needed to move faster if he wanted to make it to the ship in time. Another hooting sound behind him had Metatron sighing. The damn thing was gonna follow him like a puppy. He turned around to shoo it away again and was greeted with a large glob of spit to the face.

Metatron immediately began screaming in pain and tried to wipe the liquid off his face to stop the burning. He staggered backward against the Jeep, blinded, and began fumbling for the door of the Jeep to try and get away from the dinosaur. A hiss from behind him has Metatron screaming louder in panic before he was suddenly slammed against the side of the Jeep. He never felt the can of shaving cream fall out of his jacket pocket as he helplessly fought the dinosaur pinning him down.

* * *

 

Lucifer frantically splashed water on his face from a nearby stream, trying to get the blood and mud off so he could see properly, as Jo had a mild panic attack behind him.

“We need to get him!” Jo said in a harsh whisper.

Lucifer stood up with a heavy breath and looked up the nearby tree that the Jeep with Adam had landed in. That was not going to be an easy climb. However, he knew he couldn’t let Jo do it. She was too hysterical at the moment.

“Don’t worry, Jo,” Lucifer assured her, turning to put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get Adam out of there.”

“He _left_ us,” Jo sobbed. It took Lucifer a moment to realize that Jo was now talking about Raphael.

“I know he did. But I’m not going to do that, Jo. I’m right here. Now, sit down and I’ll go up to get Adam out of the tree,” Lucifer said.

Trusting Jo to do as he said, Lucifer stepped away and looked up at the Jeep again to plan his route up the tree. Deciding to just pick a route as he went, Lucifer stepped forward and reached for the tree trunk. It took him a little while, but he eventually made it up the tree to the Jeep. Lucifer winced when he looked over how much damage the vehicle had sustained from the rex’s assault.

“Adam?” Lucifer called out. He carefully opened one of the Jeep doors to reveal Adam huddled against one of the seats. Adam’s face and body was covered with a variety of liquids - blood, sweat, and tears - but he looked alright outside of that. “Adam.”

“Yes, Dr. Landersen?” Adam let out in a moan.

“Come on. Let’s get you out of this car and down on solid ground,” Lucifer said. He reached a hand out for Adam to grab. It took Adam a few tries, but he managed to move himself enough to grab Lucifer’s hand and allow the older man to pull him out of the Jeep.

“How… How are we gonna get down?” Adam asked as he looked down in terror.

“Easy. One branch at a time,” Lucifer replied. “It’s just like leaving a tree house. Ever have one of those growing up?”

“No,” Adam said with a shake of his head.

“It’s easier than it looks,” Lucifer insisted. “Just go where I go.”

Lucifer guided Adam down as slow as he was able to, mindful of the possible injuries Adam had from being tossed around in the Jeep. It took twice as long going down as it did going up, but Lucifer was mentally calling it a win once he and Adam were standing on the ground.

“Adam!” Jo shrieked as she rushed up to hug Adam tightly. Adam hugged back without hesitation, so Lucifer knew not to worry about Adam having any broken ribs.

“Come on, you two. Let’s go,” Lucifer interrupted their mini reunion. “We can’t stay here for long.”

“Where will we go?” Jo asked as she pulled away from Adam.

“We can’t go back the way we came. Not only would it be difficult getting up that wall, but there’s now a free-range t-rex on the road. The road’s basically a funnel with fences on both sides, so we’d be in trouble if we ran into her up there,” Lucifer said.

“Then just what are we supposed to do?” Adam exclaimed.

“Kids, the paddock is empty,” Lucifer pointed out.

“The paddock is empty,” Adam repeated, sharing a confused look with Jo.

“Yes. That means it’s safe. The t-rex isn’t in here with us. We’re in here all alone. We should be able to make the three or four mile trip back to the main building without running into anything,” Lucifer said.

“It’s safe...” Jo said.

“It’s safe,” Lucifer assured her. “Now, come on. The best thing for us to do right now is follow the fence as far as we can back toward the main building. It’s our best protection at the moment.”

Nodding in agreement, Jo and Adam pulled away from each other completely and followed Lucifer as he led the way in the general direction of safety. None of them knew how long it would take, but the current route was better than facing the rex head-on again.


End file.
